It Lurks in the Shadows
by Skrybbls
Summary: Rated for later chapters title a work in progress A new runner in the Labyrinth, and its taken on a dark new shape... This is my first fic ever, thought I'd give it a try. Please be nice but i will take whatever advice i can get. Thanks and hope you enjoy
1. Prologue

Prologue

The King of the Goblins was not a man to be trifled with. The last person who dared him had suffered horribly for it; poor Sarah, the Defeater of the Labyrinth, went mad in an asylum and killed herself some years after her run. Oh yes, Jareth, our beloved King had enjoyed deteriorating the young woman's mind after the way she treated him. _Humiliated_ him. He had once loved her, but since those damning words he had allowed himself to succumb into a cold darkness. Even the Labyrinth grew, and became more dark and twisted as time went by….


	2. The Beginning

The Beginning

Wish aways were at an all time low, and the goblins were bored. So of course they all massed to the throne room with kegs of ale, oblivious to the silent brooding figure seated on the throne. He leaned back with one leg casually slung over the arm of the chair. Mismatched eyes gazed off into the distance, head cocked slightly to the side as if listening to something.

Chickens squawked and feathers flew as several goblins happily chased the birds in a drunken state. Such was the merriment within the Goblin City, stay drunk and no one would notice the darkness creeping over the Labyrinth beyond the walls.

The king sat so still, so perfectly poised one would have confused him for a statue. His chin rested lightly on a gloved hand, eyes still glazed. A drunk goblin careened into the leg still touching the floor, and a slow evil smile started creeping over the King's face. He rose from the throne, sending frightened goblins scrambling to the other side of the room to get away from the towering man. His head tiled slightly, still listening for something, and his smile grew.

"And here I thought it would be the boy."


	3. Dynah

Beyond the sounds of heavy metal, Dynah heard the crash of toys followed by the ear-shattering shriek of little Beth. Dropping the red leather-bound book she was skimming though, she ripped out the ear buds and ran up the stairs to the children's playroom.

Six year old Bethany stood in the center of the room surrounded by fallen toys, one hand on her hip (an act no doubt learned from her mother) and the other outstretched to her brother, two years her senior, for the small diary he held over her head, taunting her. The playroom itself was in shambles with toys strewn about; even the small art table was overturned in the corner. Dynah groaned but kept her colorful language to herself; her sister owed her for dealing with this crap.

"Bethany Amber, James Thomas, that's enough!" she hated to raise her voice; she did not posses the authorities tone required to get their attention.

Beth pointed at James, her freckled face scrunched in anger. "I wish the Goblin King would come and take you away right now!"

"Beth," Dynah scolded, "That's a mean thing to say." But for some reason sounded all too familiar. The lights flickered out, plunging them into darkness.

"Damn," Dynah tucked her iPod into her shorts side pocket. "Don't move you two."

"Oh don't worry, we wont be going anywhere yet," a silky voice answered, obviously neither of the two children's.

A light flickered on and in James' place was a tall lithe man with light hair dressed in outlandish clothes. He cocked an evil grin at the astonished woman, and then turned to the trembling little girl.

"Where did you take him?" Beth demanded. Her brown eyes were wide with fear but her voice was strong.

"You know where he is," the man answered.

"Where is James," Dynah found her voice and moved to stand between Beth and the strange man, pulling a hidden knife from her unseen pocket. "And who the hell are you?"

"He's the King of the Goblins," Beth peeked out from behind her.

"Goblins huh?" Dynah frowned. "From that book?" That red leather-bound book that was downstairs. No wonder the words seemed familiar. She racked her brain for a name… he had a name… "Jareth?"

He grinned and bowed his head slightly with, an air of confidence. "Come along Beth," he held out a black-gloved hand to the girl. "Time is running out."

"Come along where?" Dynah swatted away the offered hand. "She's not going anywhere with you. Bring James back." Jareth raised an eyebrow at the woman who didn't seem to fear him at all. She stood, tall and defiant with one hand slightly behind her, hiding the weapon he knew was there. It was refreshing, if somewhat annoying.

"What's said is said." Dynah wanted to smack that smug look off his face. "Beth will have thirteen hours to solve my Labyrinth, or her brother will become one of my goblins."

"She's a kid she doesn't know any better," Dynah protested.

"It's too late."

"No its not, you took him away you can bring him back."

"That is not part of the deal. The Labyrinth must be solved in order to secure the boys safe return." He crossed his arms casually over his chest.

Dynah thought for a moment. "Then take me in her stead. Let me run the Labyrinth."

Faint surprise shown on the man's face at the proposal. "You wish to try and solve the Labyrinth? This switch has never been done before." He looked the woman up and down. She was barefoot, wearing a bright orange bikini top and men's cargo shorts that hung so low her rear end barely held them up, showing off her matching bright orange bottoms. What the humans called, a beach bum.

"You've an open mind for an adult," he conceded, stepping to the side to reveal a doorway. Beyond was a castle centered in a dark maze. Dynah took a step forward, mesmerized at the majestic scene before her. Before taking another step a thought occurred to her.

"Beth?" She turned to find the playroom was no longer there, the child gone with it. They stood among sparsely placed trees and brush, the wind blowing coarse sand about their feet. "Where's Beth?"

Wordlessly the man conjured a crystal out of thin air and held it up to her. Within the crystal, Dynah could see the image of Beth safe in her bed, sleeping soundly. He then pointed behind her to a clock that wasn't there before. "You have thirteen hours, I suggest you hurry."

Dynah glanced at the antique clock. "Thirteen hours?" she turned back to him and flashed Jareth an evil grin to rival his own. "Piece of cake." Turning on her heel, she left him standing on the hilltop to stare after her, a bemused expression on his face.

_Force the positive._Dynah grimaced at the thought as she tucked the knife, unused, back into her pocket. This all felt like a bad dream, and bad dreams always got worse.

--

AN: Thanks for reading, hope it was good enough (or sucked enough) for you the wonderful reader to review coughhintcough. :)


	4. Hour One

I apologize for the delay, my personal life became slightly hectic and I took a short break. Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate it. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy :D I suppose I should put this in, I don't own Labyrinth or any such to do with it, I own Dynah and them though; the kids work for cookies. Anyways On with the story...

-Angel

--

Hour One

The wall towered over her, far too high to climb and no entrance within sight. In its shadow she shivered, feeling a chill creep down her spine. Swallowing the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, she searched the surrounding area for a way in but found nothing. Returning to where she started, Dynah stood for a moment, chewing on her lower lip in deep thought. Hearing a grunt from her left, she spun around into a defensive stance and came face to…well…face with a creature that barely came to her waist.

He glared up at her. "Who are you?"

"Dynah" she replied, frowning at the creature. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Hoggle," he pointed to his chest, a plastic bracelet clinking on his wrist. "What you want?"

"I need to get into the Labyrinth, is there a gate?" Dynah asked, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Course there is," he waved at the wall absentmindedly, "but whaddaya wanna go in there for?"

"I've business with the King."

"Jareth, eh?" the small creature sniffed at the name. "No one goes into the Labyrinth anymore, changed it has."

"Changed?"

"Dark things moved in there. Only death waits for ya, go home missy." Hoggle turned to leave.

"I'm not going anywhere you," Dynah overtook the dwarf in two steps and spun him around, leaning down to his level. "Look, I've got to get an eight-year-old pain in my arse to take back to a six-year-old spoiled brat before their mother gets home to complain about her new boy-toy of the week; and I've got to do it all in less than thirteen hours, now how do I get into the Labyrinth?"

"Ahhh," Hoggle grinned up at her and pulled away from the human, "now that's the right question. If you're so intent on goin' in, you gets in there." He pointed behind her at a large gate that wasn't there moments before.

As if on cue, the black wrought iron slowly swung open. Jaw dropped, Dynah straightened, and cautiously walked towards the twisted metal, completely forgetting about Hoggle who absentmindedly fingered the plastic bracelet.

Through the gateway, Dynah glanced to both sides, each corridor looking exactly alike; dark, damp, and empty.

"You really goin' in there, are you?" Hoggle's voice caused Dynah to jump, emitting a brave squeak as she stumbled away from the source of the voice. Hoggle squinted up at the woman, curious as to why she was so intent on entering the Labyrinth. Since Sarah passed, Jareth had allowed dark things to move in. Though runners were few, every one of them had died. Horrible deaths they were…

Dynah's face scrunched in thought, ignoring the creature that trailed behind her. She tried to remember if the book had said anything when she skimmed through it earlier but nothing came to mind. Nothing she had read was about getting through the first part of the maze. Sighing she picked a direction and started walking. "Thanks, Hoggle," she said over her shoulder.

The corridor was deathly silent, not even the air stirred. It sent a dark, sick feeling to the pit of her stomach, leaving a metallic taste in her mouth. After a few minutes of walking in the stillness she pulled out her music player and placed the ear buds in her ears. Still sensitive to the silence the music that blared when she turned it on caused her to go temporarily deaf. Dynah rubbed her ears, wincing, and turned down the volume. Bare feet padded softly as she walked along the dirt path, the corridor seemed endless.

Dynah stifled a yawn, popping her jaw painfully. It had been a long day, and things were not looking up for her. Thirteen hours of this crap, she almost wished for something to happen. _Anything_. Even this darkness Hoggle spoke about. Couldn't be that bad, could it? She had been walking for roughly half an hour and made no progress. Sighing she put her arm out to lean against the wall, and promptly fell to the hard ground.

"Ow! What the hell?" Dynah cursed, pushing herself up onto her elbows. Glancing around she found she had fallen through a hole in the wall entrance. Pulling herself up she stepped back, examining the area curiously. She had literally fallen through an invisible doorway, it was in plain sight! Chuckling to herself, Dynah brushed the dirt off her shorts and started walking to her left. Seemed like a pretty good direction to walk…


	5. Hour Two

_I apologize for the rather lengthy delay. I took a year long hiatus to get my life back in order after some rather... unpleastant events. If there is still anything to this, I'm going to find it. As usual, I only own Dynah and the kids, Labrynith and its colorful set of characters are not mine. -Angel_

_****************************************************************************************************************************************************_

_"He's always watching, with those crystals. He's probably watching me right now."_

_"You've been swallowing those pills they give you? I wouldn't recommend it; you'll get out of here sooner that way."_

_The dark haired woman snorted. "Please, it's a break from all that's going through my head."_

_A silence hung in the air; the two women each sat at a window facing each other, though their gazes were on the courtyard below where other patients sat in the gardens, enjoying the spring air. Finally the younger of the two spoke. _

_"So what are you in for?"_

_The other sighed, her eyes starting to glaze over. "Because of him. He took my brother, and made me run his Labyrinth. They told me it wasn't real, but I know better. I know what I went through. Thirteen hours of hell."_

_"Who is 'he'?"_

_"Jareth." She spat the name like it was the most vile word spoken. "King of the Goblins." _

_"Oh," she pushed red hair out of her eyes. "So… what do I call you?"_

_Brown eyes finally locked on her. "Sarah."_

Walking barefoot was not fun, why Jareth in his almighty wisdom and kingliness didn't let her at least grab her slippers was far beyond her logical thinking. Dynah stepped on another sharp rock and promptly started to loose a string of curses that would have made a military man proud. She grabbed her foot and hopped to a nearby boulder to examine the bottom for any cuts. Leaning against the stone she brushed away dirt to reveal a deep puncture oozing dark blood.

"Damn," Dynah sat back, letting her foot drop. She didn't have anything to wrap it with. Thirteen hours of it festering in infectious Underground germs. Goody.

"You've an interesting vocabulary," a now familiar drawl seemed to materialize behind her. Turning she found Jareth leaning casually against a tree, twirling a crystal between his fingers. "Can I safely assume the boy learned to speak from you?"

Dynah scowled. "Is he too much of a handful for you?" she pushed away from the boulder to face him. "You know you wouldn't be the first to beg me to take him back. Don't worry I won't think any less of you if you do." It was Jareth's turn to scowl as she strolled past him, an air of confidence about her to rival his own.

"You sure about that way love?" Jareth's eyes followed the woman's back, tracing the tattoos that decorated her flesh.

Dynah slowed to a stop. "What's wrong with this way?"

"Absolutely nothing," Jareth's expression returned to the calm sovergn demeanor he maintained around other runners. That arrogant "I know all and am all" attitude that quickly became annoying. He toyed with the crystal, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"Riiiight," Dynah drawled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't seem to be the helpful type."

"It's not too late for you to turn back. I can send you home, erase little James' existence from your minds." He moved from his casual stance to circle the woman, eyeing Dynah like a predator. "Walk away, and go on with your life."

Dynah snorted a very unlady-like act. "Shouldn't you be offering that to me like when I'm tired and unable to continue or something? Isn't that how it goes?"

"I'll be sure to do that for you love."

"I'll be waiting." Dynah spun on her heel and left, continuing on her chosen path. Once again Jareth stood, watching the woman disappear with a slightly amused expression on his face. Glancing at his crystal he watched as she walked deeper into the dark wood.

Dynah limped slightly as she walked, the trees becoming larger and more dense as she walked. Eventually the light dimmed, blocked out by the trees, the wood becoming more twisted and grotesque. Something gave an unearthly hiss and she froze, her heart pounding in her ears. Dynah's stomach tied into a knot as she searched for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing she stepped forward, and was met with more hissing, this time closer. She took off at a dead run, ignoring the pain shooting up her leg from the wound on her foot. She climbed onto a boulder, sensing something nipping at her heels as she climbed to the top. She glanced down and groaned.

Somehow it could get worse. Dynah made a face at the ground around her feet. Such odd squiggly little creatures with fangs the length of her pinkie squirmed around the rocks, unable to move their slick bodies up the rough facing where the woman stood. She sat down, letting her feet dangle just out of their reach. It was sheer luck she found the boulder patch after stumbling onto the nest of… whatever it was that currently snapped at her toes. Dynah bit her lip, just sitting around was going to be a waste of time, but did she really have to go through all this just to get an ungrateful brat back to his mother just so she could ignore him? Honestly, James was probably better off here among… goblins. She smirked to herself, wiggling her bog toe at a particularly odd colored serpent-like creature. Its pink eyes followed the stubby digit with a dark hunger; it coiled and lunged, higher than what she thought capable, causing Dynah to jerk her feet back. Tucking her knees to her chest, Dynah considered her options. Keep running the Labyrinth, or call down Jareth and concede victory to him. The latter was just unheard of in her book, if anything Dynah was well known for living up to her Irish heritage stereotype. Book… that red book she was thumbing through earlier was all too familiar, the story it told was one she'd already heard, but hadn't given it too much though til now. No, giving up wasn't an option. _For her._


	6. Hour Three

_A/N: I do not own Labyrinth, nor the characters save for Dynah. She's mine :) Thank you!_

* * *

_Sarah was crying. Not the hysterical blubbering that normally graced the rising sun. Dynah walked into their shared bathroom to find the woman under a freezing waterfall with her face distorted with an uproar of emotions ranging from uncontrolled rage (as was evident from her bleeding knuckles), to a deep, soul-tearing sorrow as her mouth opened in a silent anguished scream. Her fist slammed into the tiled wall, making a wet smack as it connected. Sighing, Dynah walked into the water and turned it off. She sank to the floor across from where Sarah huddled, not caring she was sitting in icy water, and waited for the older woman to compose herself before a wayward orderly decided to wander in and sedate her… again. _

"_He said he loved me," Sarah finally mumbled into the wall. "I threw it back at him. I was stupid." Her fist pounded again. "I was a stupid little girl." She turned to Dynah, puffy bloodshot eyes stared out at her from behind her wet black locks._

_Dynah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "If he loves you he would forgive you."_

"_He is King, and is above such mortal ways. It's his way or off to the Bog of Eternal Stench!" Sarah's arm flung out as she leaned back to draw her knees to her chest._

"_He was just playing the part, Sarah. Even you said it, he played everything you wanted him to be. I doubt he even knows what love is," Dynah shrugged, flicking at the water puddle at her feet._

_With a garbled scream Sarah launched herself at the younger, numb fingers around Dynah's throat before she could scramble away. The two slipped on the tile, Sarah on top trembling and screaming of Jareth's love for her as she slammed the back of Dynah's skull against the floor. Orderlies and nurses couldn't seem to arrive fast enough to pull the hysterical woman away kicking and screaming, though it was a blur of mere precious seconds for Dynah. The water spread the blood over the tiled floor, giving the small stall a metallic taste in the air. Dynah could have sworn she saw stars…_

_It was a pounding migraine that drug her painfully back to the land of the living. The white walls of her windowed corner were painted orange from another rising sun, which sent cracks of lightning to bounce behind her eyeballs. Dynah was alone behind her curtains, so she attempted to sit up. Her head seemed to spin and body protested angrily at the action, but Dynah persited, ignoring the searing pain in her skull. _

_Turning she lowered her bare feet to the cold floor, hissing at the sudden temperature change, and slowly stood up. She was thankfully still dressed in her pajamas, crumpled but dry. She felt like she needed a shower, and winced at the thought of her last attempt to get a shower. It ended rather badly. Moving painfully slow, she unhooked herself from the IV stand, and pulled back the curtain to find her roommate restrained in her cot. Grimacing, Dynah looked down on the woman. Sarah's face was pained, though her deep breaths indicated she was sound asleep. On the nightstand next to her was a red leather bound book. Sarah was often seen with her nose stuck in that very book, but never let anyone else have a look at it. _

_Curious, Dynah picked it up and flipped through the pages. "You're him aren't you?" Sarah's eyes widened. "You're the Goblin King." The man before her gave an impish grin, something else playing in his eyes. Sarah pleaded, "I want my brother back please if it's all the same." "What's said is said," the man spoke with authority. "But- I didn't mean it." "Oh you didn't?" _

_Dynah shook her head and continued to scan the pages, stopping towards the end to read of her victorious confrontation with the King named Jareth. Dynah's face scrunched that the name. Sarah often spoke of the man as if she knew him, and those were her more lucid days. While she obsessed over this king though, on her off days she called into the mirror, looking for Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. It was more in the night when she asked Jareth for forgivness._

_Sighing, Dynah tossed the book back down to find Sarah staring wide-eyed up at her. "I want you to have it," she said. _

"_What would I want with a book," Dynah smirked, "Do I look like I read?"_

"_Please?" Sarah pleaded with her, "You're the only one who understands, you're the only one who has been nice to me."_

"_You have a funny way of showing gratitude," Dynah turned to walk out of the room, leaving Sarah pleading behind her._

* * *

"Hey you! Cor…"

Dynah was shoved from her precarious perch on the rocks and landed hard on the dirt. Groaning, she glared up at the dwarf. "Really?"

"How do you expect to solve the labyrinth sleeping?" Hoggle demanded as he climbed to the ground.

"Remind me why you care?" Dynah sat up to rest her elbow on her knee, "Cause in all honesty I'm not here for the kid. He's just a perk of the job."

"Then why are you here?"

"Personal business with Jareth."

"Oh?" Hoggle studied her thoughtfully as she stood, favoring her cut foot, and turn to leave. "Well you won't find him that way."

"And I'm to suppose you're feeling particularly helpful today?" Dynah glanced over her shoulder with her trademark smirk.

Hoggle growled. "You wanna talk to Jareth or not?"

Dynah pondered for a moment, bits and pieces of a forgotten story coming back to her, then turned to face him fully. "What is it you want in return? I don't carry any plastic with me," she looked pointedly at the bracelet on his wrist. Hoggle shoved his wrist out of view behind his back.

"Just put Jareth in his place."

Dynah studied Hoggle's resolve with a kind reserve. The Labyrinth wasn't what it should have been, two years was a long time to remember how the story was supposed to go, and this wasn't feeling right. As if to agree with her thoughts a chill picked up, causing her to shiver. Damn she should've been able to bring a jacket too. Traipsing all around half-naked… Jareth was sick and twisted. In many ways.

Shaking her head, Dynah sighed and nodded.

"Ok Hoggle, it's your lead."


	7. Hour Four

Jareth watched through his crystal as Hoggle led Dynah through the dense forest the fieries had once called home. He had long since disposed of the annoying creatures, having sent bodily pieces to all corners of his kingdom. The two figures in his crystal kept their sarcastic remarks to each other short and to the point. Truly the woman was unlike any runner had had before, yet she shared the same sprit of another. The same determination. The same… fierce loyalty that drove her to continue onward despite how bleak and difficult that task that lay ahead of her seemed.

Goblins had moved their boisterous activities to another room in the castle, leaving Jareth to pace his throne room, and periodically check in on Dynah's progress. James, he had thrown into an oubliette because the boy did _not_ shut up. Honestly if forced to be silent for 20 seconds the child would explode. Jareth was sorely tempted to find out, but he was quickly getting a headache.

So here he was, four hours into the run and his player was still alive. Perhaps he should add a little spice into her run. Flicking the crystal away he summoned a schendil bird to the window. The normally disgusting changeling had transformed its puke green feathers into an array of colors, diminishing its size by more than half to perch prettily on the sill.

"Pretty girl," the creature chirped.

"Pretty girl persists," Jareth frowned. "Go distract her."

With a squawk the bird took flight. Jareth settled on the window sill as he materialized yet another crystal in his gloved hand. He toyed with it, still staring out over his darkened kingdom. The sun was lost behind a blackened sky, sending his labyrinth into a shadowy overcast. In another time he may have been worried of this darkness that seeped in, but currently he couldn't seem to find a care. The Goblin King sighed and glanced at the grand clock behind his throne.

_Tick tock Dynah..._

The schendil found the two walking along a mossy path, sending snide remarks to each other. Dynah walked carefully, her foot now cleaned and wrapped courtesy of Hoggle. The bird settled on a branch roughly head high to the female and waited for them to approach him.

"Hoggle, you don't know where you're going;" Dynah was slightly annoyed, "do you?"

"I know," Hoggle protested. "I uh…" he looked around them, all the trees looked the same, "I jus' needs to get me bearings is all."

"Great." Only slightly annoyed.

The schendil squawked, gaining their attention. "Pretty polly knows a way."

"Eh, don't lissen to him," Hoggle sniffed. "He's a decoy."

"Pretty polly knows a way."

"In a world where nothing is as it seems," Dynah murmured, moving closer to the bird.

"Pretty lady follow pretty polly," the schendil chirped.

"Cute," Dynah smirked, "Pretty polly want an afterlife?"

The bird took flight and screeched, changing in mid-dive. The beautiful colors shifted to a scraggly grey-green and black, its wing span easily doubling and its talons growing to the size of a man's fingers. Dynah gulped. A _big_ man. Cursing she grabbed Hoggle's wrist and ran for the closest pathway, dragging the poor dwarf along beside her, only to be cut off by the irate bird. Skidding to a stop Dynah yanked her smaller companion out of the way of the creature's grasp and received two deep gashes on her forearm. The bird continuously blocked their escape attempts, herding them towards a bare, well-worn path that led deeper into the darkness of the trees. After about 50 yards in, the bird stopped his pursuit and took off, leaving Dynah to throw a few choice adjectives in its wake.

Hoggle sniffed and straightened his clothes. "We'll go this way," he said decidedly.

"You don't think that was the least bit strange?" Dynah protested as she followed him. "That thing made us run this way, something doesn't add up."

"Obviously."

"And we're going this way why?"

"You think we have a choice after all that?"

Dynah paused. "Point taken."

"Thank you."

The two walked in silence after than, leaving Dynah to hold her throbbing arm. She could feel hot sticky blood trickle down her arm, causing it to itch horribly. They needed to find water so she could clean it properly. After a few moments it grew darker, and became harder to see. Biting her lip, Dynah slowed and poked around with her feet, relying on her sense of touch more than sight. When her foot hit something hard and smooth she froze.

"Hoggle?"

"Yea?"

"What's this?"

"Do I look like I gotta light?"

Another point. Then a thought occurred. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her music player, and turned it on. The palm-sized piece of equipment glowed blue, emitting just enough light to show her the object next to her foot.

It was a large skull.

Dynah's stomach dropped.

There were several skulls, including other bones in a large sticky pile at the base of a sparkling tree. Curious Dynah reached out to touch it when Hoggle let out a strangled gasp.

"No! Don't touch that!" he jerked her away by her belt loop.

"Why not?"

"It's spider silk. Stickiest stuff around," Hoggle explained, still pulling her away and leading them further into the trees. "You get caught in it, you'll never get out."

"Spiders?" Dynah scoffed. "What's a little spider gonna do?"

"These ain't normal spiders' missy. They're as big as that bird we just saw, and even more so dangerous." Hoggle side-stepped another pile of bones. Upon closer inspection the skull was wide, with horns on either side. Add a little brown fur and it gave an eerily familiar face. Gulping he pressed on, eager to get away from the area. His little legs moved fast, leaving Dynah to hobble after him.

"What's the hurry?" Dynah glanced around her with what little light she had. All around the trees glittered blue. It looked particularly beautiful, like sparkling stars were embedded into the bark. The air seemed stale though, very thick and heavy with something… not good. Then it was as though the slammed into a wall of rotted flesh. Dynah dry heaved as her hand flew to her mouth and nose. Hoggle gagged, bringing his sleeve to his nose.

"It's worse than the Bog of Eternal Stench!" he exclaimed.

Inching forward with her light held in the air, Dynah found the source of the smell. A large, furry brown body hung upside down from an unseen branch, its insides emptied so that all left hanging was an empty cavity. Dynah groaned and gagged, finding three more in similar, if more decayed states.

Hoggle held down bile as he choked out one word. "Ludo."

Dynah stiffened at the name, a "lovable beast" coming to mind. From further in the wood came a pained growl, and although it was faint the word spoken was clear. "Ludo."

"Here!" Hoggle ran forward into the darkness.

"Hoggle!" Dynah hissed, taking after the dwarf. "Honestly for someone so scared of spiders you sure don't mind running off into the dark." Hoggle didn't answer, nor could she see him. "Hoggle?"

Something moved softly behind her, sending cold chills down her spine. Slowly she turned, holding the light up and strained to see in the dim light. Tittering, a small, large-eyed rodent dropped from the branches above her head to the ground at her feet, causing Dynah to give a brave squeak as she stumbled away. Not seeing she ran straight into a large and somewhat sticky mass.

It was not one of her proudest moments as she let loose a string of curses that she was quickly becoming famous for and pulled away with a scrunched face of disgust. "Ick." Wiping her hand as best she could on her shorts Dynah headed in the direction she guessed where Hoggle had run to.

"Hoggle?" her voice didn't carry about a whisper. "Where are you?"

"Over here," Hoggle's voice was so loud and close that Dynah jumped, dropping the player. Cautiously she picked it up as another pained whimper came from behind the dwarf.

"Down…"

Inching closer Dynah came face to upside-down face with the one called Ludo. Hoggle tugged at the web cocoon that held Ludo in similar fashion to the bodies they had found.

"Help me get him down," Hoggle was saying.

"Here," Dynah gave him the light, "hold this." She dug into her back pocket and brought out the knife she had pulled during her first encounter with Jareth. Opening it she started sawing at the fibers, cutting through with relative ease.

Behind her she felt the forest move.

"Uh… Dynah?"

"I know." The web was falling away from the body.

"Hurry."

Her heart sped up. "I know."

"I mean it."

"I know!" The last fiber gave way enough for Ludo to drop to the ground and roll to his feet. Hoggle yelled and the light vanished.

"Ludo run!"

Dynah felt something swipe at her, the air shifting above her bloody arm. Falling she rolled away, and lurched to her feet. "Hoggle, Ludo, run!" Praying they would escape Dynah took off as fast as the adrenaline would carry her. Something gave chase. Many something's gave chase. Falling over unseen roots she felt her heart clench. The entire forest felt like it had come to life, and it was coming for her. Shaking, Dynah pushed on, her lungs burning.

Finally, with rubbery legs she stumbled out of the forest and into a dying meadow. Safely several yards away from the tree line Dynah collapsed, falling into a trembling heap on the dry grass. She didn't move for many minutes. Dynah grasped for air, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. Behind her she could hear the forest chattering angrily for her, angry she got away.

Dynah slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, and noticed the black boots mere inches from her fingers. Sucking in a deep, shaky breath she sat back on her feet to look up at a grinning Goblin King.

"Shall I make that offer now love?"


End file.
